Several social media accounts have claimed that Google, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, made publicly visible on maps military bases and installations in the country led by Vladimir Putin. Information quickly denied by the Mountain View firm.
According to Google spokespersons, Russian military installations have long been visible on Google Maps, as have installations in other countries.
True images, false information
Since yesterday Monday, several posts from Twitter accounts, verified or not, have been shared thousands of times by Internet users. Eastern European media outlet Nexta and the much-quoted media account ArmedForcesUkr published satellite images of Russian military bases, claiming that Google Maps has opened up access to these images, suggesting that they were previously blurred on the software.
ArmedForcesUkr’s tweet could in part be translated as follows: Now everyone can see a variety of Russian launchers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and command posts with a resolution of about 0.5 meters per pixel “.
After being shared thousands of times on the networks, the information was denied by the official Google Maps account in response to Nexta’s tweet. Google responds by saying that there has been no change in the blurring of satellite images of Russia recently. These images were therefore already visible in clear before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia almost two months ago.
Many sites visible on Maps
In fact, blurring or pixelation of images of military installations is not that common within Google Maps, even in places that may be sensitive in nature. A Wikipedia page lists the places blurred by the company in the world, by continent, and the list is, surprisingly, very short. Blurring generally occurs when a site is extremely sensitive and secure (for example, Île Longue in France, which is home to nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines) or when an individual requests it not to appear on the cards.
The website The Verge checked images of Russian bases posted on Twitter posts and was able to confirm the veracity of at least one of them. It should also be noted that the famous Area 51 in Nevada in the United States is also displayed in plain text on Google Maps. Nothing new therefore at Google, which has already implemented sanctions against Russia other than the clear display of military bases on its satellite images.
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Source : The Verge
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